NFL: NFC Championship-Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ersJan 28, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) holds the George Halas Trophy while after winning the NFC Championship football game against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Last week (well after the 49ers Super Bowl loss), I received an email out-of-the-blue (name redacted)

Hello Kelley:
I love this shot that appeared in The Daily Journal here in San Mateo, CA.

I thought those were Brock's kids - they look like him!  I cut out the picture to show my

grandkids - such a happy capture!  

Do you know who the kids are?  They look like Brock!

Thank you, Kelley!

Redacted 

Redacted

San Mateo, CA

 

Isn't that the cutest?!

I love that there are people who are still getting a physical paper (even if it's grandpas) and that they are sharing clippings with their grandkids. This is an interaction that makes me love covering sports.

The story associated with the image

I tried to find this story on The Daily Journal website. I spent all too long scrolling through the Sports Section, both Local and National. I searched "49ers". I even searched "Kelley L Cox"

Without any luck, I tried searching "49ers comeback kelley l cox" on google images and found a link to the DeWitt Observer using an entirely different photo. 

Early in my career, I set up a google alert anytime google crawling found my name on an image in the last 24 hours. I (read: my mom) was saving all these clippings to a pinterest board But at a certain point, it felt saturated.

Subscription Models

There are SO many websites and blogs out there publishing my images courtesy of subscription model image use. When I say subscribers, I'm not talking about subscription users who pay to visit a website, but websites that have subscribed to the imagn "feed" and can use any image without an image specific licensce.

When I search Brock Purdy Kelley L Cox, I get these results

From Brock Purdy images alone, I can say I've been published In:

USA Today, The Jerusalem Post, Sports Illustrated, The Comeback, YardBarker, Bay Area Sports Hub, 49ers Webzone, Sportsnaut, On3, Fox News, AtoZ Sports, Longview News Journal, USA Today's FTW, The 33rd Team, Niners Wire, 49ers News, AZCentral, China Daily, Deadspin, Niner Noise, The Athletic, KNBR, ESPN,  Yahoo, The Guardian, MSN,

At a certain point, especially when I'm not receiving payments for each of these publications, it feels more inundating than important.

But I love to think that somewhere, my image is in the hands of a kid or two, sent by their grandpa. And while the internet is full of trolls, there's also a corner of people who have something nice to say, and a curious question, that they seek me out to ask. Without asking any favor in return (how many times have I had to respond, "No. Sorry, I can't sent the original to you".)

How About You?

Do you still get the paper? Do you still save your "tearsheets" of published work?

Check It

I am so fortunate to be in a place in my career where my work already has an outlet, I am paid to be there, not just working on spec, and I've been published enough that I no longer have to try to promote myself by promoting places where my credit line has appeared.

Challenge

I want to plug "support local news" which you absolutely should. But as someone who does not personally receive any physical newspapers myself, that would feel inauthentic. So instead I'll challenge you to get published in your local paper, print edition and observe how it feels to go beyond the screen.

 

Side Note: They are Jed York's kids. Not Brock's.